'Be respectful of our town:' Laguna Beach officials issue warning as city sees spike in visitors
The city was overwhelmed with a nearly 400% spike in water rescues over the 4th of July weekend.
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- With thousands of people flocking to Laguna Beach this summer, the city is sending tourists a strong message after experiencing an overwhelming 4th of July weekend.
Mayor Sue Kempf cautions beachgoers to look after the city's beaches.
"Just be respectful of our town," she said. "We love our beaches. We try to take really good care of them." She said tourists are welcome, but some people are misbehaving and disobeying the laws.
"We're getting a lot of people leaving their trash. I always like to tell people, 'Take home with you what you brought to Laguna Beach,'" said Kempf.
"You got to leave it the way that you showed up to it at, and that's important to remain the beautiful beach community that we are," Kai Bond said, the city's acting marine safety chief.
Laguna Beach officials believe the spike in tourism is creating some problems in the city and out on the water.
The saturated beaches and limited parking is causing issues to spill into residential neighborhoods. The city was overwhelmed with a nearly 400% spike in water rescues over the holiday weekend.
Bond said lifeguards made 2,278 water rescues over the 4th of July weekend, a 395% spike from last year's 460 rescues.
Police have also seen calls for service and DUI arrests go up, with 242 more calls this year than last year's holiday week and DUI arrests doubling from 5 to 10.
"It's the influx of visitors who just sometimes don't, as the mayor said, treat this place like your home," Laguna Beach Police Capt. Mike Peters said.
The city is looking at possible solutions to address the problems.
Laguna Beach police does not hand out warnings, so violators caught breaking the law for things like littering, smoking or even having their dog off the leash will face fines starting at $100.
